Prom Night
by ToastySama
Summary: Who's going with whom to the prom? Mai x Yugi
1. Fortyfive Days

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the plot to this fic.

Disclaimer 2: I got the image of the dress from a website called ovifemale and do not claim any affiliation with the website, dress manufacturer, or photographers. I am also not an employed or related to anyone associated with the website and/or creation of said dress. (For some reason it felt like something Mai might wear.)

Author's note: I decided to add in the character MIHO, from the Yugi-oh Movie. I am making this note to clarify that she is not a Mary-Sue made by me, but the creators of Yu-Gi-Oh. And, she has no major role or importance to this story line.

*Miho's Appearance: So that we do not have to give her too much personality, she wears a girl's uniform, like Tea does. She has long lavender hair and lavender eyes. She uses a light yellow ribbon to tie her hair up in a high ponytail. While her hair is up, it reaches down to the bottom of her uniform skirt.

Prom Night

Tea woke up with a big smile on her face. She ran over her calendar and marked off today, which was a new day.

"Forty-five days until the prom. And, I know just the person to ask." She skipped along to the bathroom, squealing all the way.

"So, who are you taking to the prom, Joey?"

"Who am I taking to the who?"

"The PROM," Serenity yelled. "Don't you remember that you told me fifteen days ago to remind you to get a date for the prom because you said that you were so busy trying to find a job that you might forget to find a prom date."

"Oh, yeah." He kissed his sister on the cheek. "Ok, off to school. See ya later, sis."

She gave him a thumb up, "Go get them, Joey."

Joey smiled and thought to himself, "I will. And, I know just the person to ask."


	2. Who are you going to the prom with, Yugi...

"Hey, Yugi!"

"Joey!"  The two friends smiled at one another.

"I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Joey.  Yugi."

"Hi, Bakura," the two of them said in unision.

"How's your new job?"

"It's all right," Joey said with a sigh.  "Now I know the pain of what Miss Harris was yelling about, me flipping burgers for the rest of my life."

"Live and learn.  That's what I say."

"But, now that my new job is on the way, I can find myself a prom date."

"A prom date?  I haven't thought of anyone to ask, yet."

"You haven't thought of anyone to ask yet!?  You better hurry up.  Don't you know you need a neat tux and stuff?  Right, Yuge?"

"Yeah.  I guess," Yugi replied with a hint of uninterest in his voice.

"Hmm?  What about you, Yuge?"  Yugi, then said something very softly.  "What was that?"

"I said, I'm not going to the prom," Yugi repeated again a bit louder.

"Why, Yuge?  There's probably plenty of girls dying to go out with you."

"It's not that.  I just think that I should the use the time to help the spirit of the puzzle remember his past instead of worrying about the prom.  Plus, you know me.  I'd probably get cold feet."

"Awn.  That's too bad."

"Who are you taking to the prom," Bakura asked.

"Well, to show how good of friends that we all are, asked Mai."

"Well," Yugi began, "What did she say?"

"I tried calling her and all I kept on getting was some message that her phone wasn't in service.  I'll go looking for her after school.  I know she'll say 'yes'."


	3. Will you go to the prom with me?

After school, Yugi, Tristan, Bakura, Joey, and Duke were waiting at the gates for Tea and Miho.

"YUGI," Tea yelled as she waved her hand and started to jog over towards them with a big smile on her face.

"Hi guys," Miho said, once the two of them reached the rest. "How's the prom preparations going?"

"Mai's phone doesn't work, so Yugi and I are gonna look around for her," Joey answered.

"Can I come along," Tea asked. "It's been a while since we've seen Mai."

"Sure," Joey said with a smirk.

"And what about the rest of you guys? Any dates yet?"

"All of them shook their heads."

"I'm thinking about maybe one or two girls out of many," Duke stated as he started playing with his hair.

"You too," Miho asked. "I have at least fifteen."

Tristan's jaw dropped, "FIFTEEN?!"

Miho nodded, "Yeah, but he has to be the right guy. A prom picture can haunt the rest of your life."

"The rest of your life," Yugi, Tristan, Bakura, and Duke asked in unison.

"Mmm-hmm."

"Oh my god, what if I ask the wrong person," Tristan asked as he clutched Joey's shirt.

"HEY! Off the merchandise, Tristan! I still haven't asked Mai out yet! I wanna look my best!" Joey hits Tristan's hand away and soon he feels his hand grabbed and then held by a very soft hand. Tristan gets a big smile on his face, then notices that he is feeling two right hands.

"There you go. All paired up now," Tea says with a smile.

"Eeep," Tristan yells. Miho just blinks blindly at Tea, then at Tristan.

Tea winks at him and whispers, "Now's your chance. Ask her!"

"Um Miho, …I-I-I. I-I-I-."

Joey puts his arm around Tristan's shoulder, "I think what my buddy here is trying do is ask you to go to the prom with you."

"NO! No. I could never ask her that, Joey. But, if I know I wouldn't object if she wants to go with me."

"Can I think about it?"

"You've been saying that ALL day," Tea started to yell, "I mean if I had all the choices that you've-!"

"LOOK! It's Mai," Tristan points out. Mai takes the key out of the ignition of her red jeep and steps out of the car.

"That's right," Joey starts thinking to himself, "Here she comes. Stay cool, STAY cool! This is your lucky day, Joey." A big grin forms on his face. After Mai reaches them, she looks at everyone, then at Tristan and Miho holding hands.

"I see that you guys don't waste time," Mai said from behind her sunglasses. Trisian and Miho immediately release their hold on each other.

"Hey, Mai, I've been trying to call you all afternoon, what's wrong with your service?"

"Huh," Mai asked as she took off her sunglasses.

"Everytime I call your cell phone, it says that your number's not in service."

"You mean THIS cell phone, Joey," she inquisited him as she held up a working cell phone.

"Yeah."

"I've been getting all of my calls today, sweetheart. You must have been dialing the wrong number."

"No I haven't!"

"Yes, you've had. I bet you don't even know my number."

"Yes, I do. You told me it was five, five, five, three, seven, six, nine."

"Hmph. You heard me wrong. I clearly said: five, five, five, three, seven, six, FIVE."

"Five, five, five, three, seven, six, five," Joey starts to say to himself softly in a state of shock."

Mai looks over and winks at Yugi, "How have you been, Yugi?"

"I'm fine. How about you, Mai?"

"Lovely. Are you hooked up for the prom, like Tristan over there?"

"No."

Mai's right eyebrow cocks up in surprise, "Really?"

"Yep."

"Well, do you want to know what would be awesome?"

"What?"

Mai squats leans toward Yugi, "If we can go to the prom together."

"Huh?" Yugi blinks and starts to blush.

Mai smiles, "Hon? I just asked you to go to the prom with me."

"You? You just did?"

"WOULD, you, like, me, to, be, your, prom, date," Mai says mechanically, spelling it out for him. "Did you hear that time?"

"Yes-."

"Great," Mai said in a lighter voice as she stood. She waved her hand as she turned around, "I'll call you later, Yugi." She winks at him, then starts heading back towards her jeep.

"But-? What-? Huh-," Joey was besides himself and did not know what question to ask first.

"Wow," Miho said as she blinked. "If it was that easy for her to steal Tea's potential prom date, then I better ask someone out quickly." She looks at Tea and sees that she's blinking with astonishment at Mai.

"Oh my," Yugi says before falling towards the ground.

"Yugi," Duke yells as he catches him.

"I'm sorry, Tea," Miho says. "I'll help you find another prom date. BUT…first things first! Tristan, will you go to the prom with me!?"

"Oh, will I ever!"


	4. Poor Joey

Poor Joey

"I'm sorry, Joey," Serenity said sympathetically as she patted her brother on the back, in the Kame Game store.

He looked up from his seat, "Thanks Serenity. I really wanted to go to the prom."

Yugi frowned, "I'm sorry, too, Joey. I'll tell Mai and cancel with her, so that she can go with you."

"That's nice really nice of you, Yuge." Yugi smiled. "But, there's no way I'm gonna let you do that!"

Téa was shocked, "WHAT? Why Joey?"

"You mean, you didn't know? Yugi wasn't going to go to the prom with us!"

"You weren't," Téa asked Yugi, a bit angered.

"No," Yugi said softly.

"Don't get mad at him, Téa," Joey told her. "Now, all of us are going."

"YEAH," Miho added. "Be happy!"

"Now, all I have to do is find a new prom date."

"Well, …we could go together, Joey," Téa suggested.

"Yeah, …, we could-," Joey started to smile.

"Why not," Duke asked Serenity.

"Well, …OKAY," Serenity said with a beaming smile.

Joey turned around with a scowl, "HEY! What's happening back there!?"

"Duke just asked me to the prom!"

"Oh, no you're not! SERENITY, you're going to the prom with me!"

Téa gasped, "But, Joey, we just agreed-."

"Look, Téa! I'd rather take my sister out to the prom, then have some jerk I don't like take her!"

"It's ok, Serenity," Duke whispered. "I'll find someone else."

"YAY! I'm going to the prom," Serenity yelled.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town:

"Hey, Seto? Isn't your prom coming up," Mokuba asked.

Seto looked at his calendar, "So it is."

"Well, aren't you going?"

"No, Mokuba."

"Why not?"

"Why would I hang out in a place with a bunch of dweebs, whom I could care less about?"


	5. Hours until the Prom

Hours until the Prom

Everything was ready. All of the reservations from the limo to the hotels, everything bought from outfits to the tinniest accessory. There was no backing out now. Well, …Yugi was thinking about backing out now. He was buttoning up his tuxedo for the final fitting, his fingers shaking up the whole way. It was a midnight purple, so dark that it should have been black.

"Yugi," Yami asked, "why do you keep on putting this thing on and taking it off?"

"To see if it fits."

"It looks like it fits fine to me."

Yugi let out a heavy sigh, nervously, "I know."

"I was worried about you eating more lately. You're lucky that you can still fit into that."

"That's what I was worried about," Yugi said as he turned to Yami. He seemed really comfortable lying on Yugi's bed, on his back and with his head hanging off the side. "I was hoping that if I gained weight, then I wouldn't have to go to the prom."

"This prom thing can't be that bad. Besides, …what is a 'prom'?"

"It's a formal occasion. And, guys take girls to it. Everyone eats and dances, et cetera. The last time where everyone REALLY dresses up before graduating from high school. And, if a guy and a girl likes one another enough, at the end of everything, they get a room together for the night and they usually, …they usually…." Yugi began to blush madly.

"Oh. So, this is a ceremony where everyone comes into manhood or womanhood. Where they are recognized as adults by this ceremony and by the end of the night everyone takes a wife and consummates their relationships."

"Almost. Except the last part."

"They're concubines, then?"

"Oh, NO-NO, NO-NO, NO! Looks like I'll have to explain the word 'date' to you, later."

"But, I would like to know more of whom would you take to this prom thing."

"Friends."

Yami rolled his eyes, "I meant the woman."

"…." Yugi yelps as the doorbell rings. "That could be her, now," Yugi thought.


	6. Cold Feet

Cold Feet

Duke puts his elbow upon the black limousine, leans against his fist, and groans, "WHERE is she?"

Tristian leaned over his left shoulder, to look out of the limo window, "Did Mai call you at all, Yugi?"

"No. When did you guys get here?"

Miho Nosaka bursts out of the car, "I can't hold it any longer!" She runs off into the Kame Game store, wearing a lime green dress. Joey was too busy checking out his hair in the mirror, to close the limo door. The powder blue suit he was wearing seems to have been made for a taller man.

Tristian looked at his watch, "Almost 40 minutes."

Serenity leaned foward, looking up at Yugi, "Her car wasn't here, when we got here, so we figured that we shouldn't go announce ourselves until you got a chance to see her. Bakura's been calling her, but she hasn't been answering her phone."

"I hope she's all right," Bakura said softly.

Joey laughes, as he franticly combs his fingers through his hair, "She probably doesn't know who you are." Joey continues laughing.

Duke looks a little depressed and blinks, "Well, she not knowing who he is, is way better then knowing you in that get up."

Joey holds up his fist, which was covered by his sleeve, "YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME-!" Tristian tries to keep Joey in the car by pushing against his shoulders.

Serenity held her brother's arm, "Joey!"

"I don't get you, Joey," Duke said. "Don't you know that you're not only keeping Téa waiting, but also MY DATE waiting?! Oh! And, when we get there, you all owe her an apology for holding a table at the restaurant for us." He closes his eyes, as he brought his index finger and thumb to the bridge of his nose and he lets out a breath. "Joey, we are WASTING our lives for a woman who wants nothing to do with us. Time and time again, she leaves us high and dry. Even, as much as she tolerates Joseph here, she won't go anywhere alone with him. If she's not self-centered, then she's definitely self-absorbed!"

Yugi waved his hands towards Duke, "Duke, I'm sure there's a reason why she isn't here, yet."

"The REASON, why THIS is happening, is because it was EASIER for Mai to disappoint Joey to his face, instead of you!"

Joey looked glum, "Duke, I don't think Mai would-," he looked hurt as he looked at Yugi, "Mai's not like that. Right, Yuge?"

"... ," before Yugi could say anything, Miho walks outside, "Thank you, for letting me use your bathroom, Yugi. I didn't mean to be so rude." She turns to Duke, "Oh, yeah. If we don't leave now, then we should cancel the reservation. Téa just texted me that she can't finish putting on her dress without me." Duke shoots a dagger glance at Joey.

Tristian sighes at Joey, "Téa will kill us if we lose the reservation, you know."

Joey gives Yugi an unsure smirk, "Well, ...you know where to meet us. I'll see you two, soon."


	7. What am I waiting for?

What am I waiting for?

From far away, a person watches Duke and Miho get into the limousine. Yugi watches it as it leaves with his friends. The figure sighs.

"Those are your friends," the figure thinks, "I'd just get in the way of what you already have." Purple eyes look up from Yugi and stare back at themselves from the car's rear view mirror. It's Mai Valentine. She then, looks back at Yugi, who returns inside his home. She picks up her cellphone and dials up her voicemail.

"You have, TEN, new messages. First message from: 'Bakura, Ryo'. At-."

"Who's Bakura," Mai thought as she starts deleting Bakura's message.

"Next message from: Bakura." Beeps confirming deletion are heard for each subsequent message. "Next message from: 'Wheeler, Serenity'."

"Hello, Mai. This is Serenity...-."

Duke is heard in the background, "Joey! Give me back my mirror. You look like a 'juice head'." Joey is heard in the background talking back.

Mai makes a face, "Hmph."

"Joey's sister. I'm calling to let you know that we're running late to the restaurant. Joey really wants you to be here with us.. We hope that you're all right." Tristian voice was heard, trying to break up the argument. "JOEY," Serenity breathes out, after scolding him. "Just to let you know, Yugi decided to wait for you at his place. He said he would rather wait all night for you to come over, than leave for the prom without you. At least give him a call? I hope to see you at the prom."

"End of message." A few phone beeps are heard. "Message deleted. NO, new messages."

Mai ended her call. "Yugi's...waiting for me?"

Yugi finally got to the door. The pounding had been happening for a while. He opened the door, "Hello?" As he looked up, he saw purple sparkly heels, long legs, and a very short purple dress with the bodice decorated with crystals.

Mai's hair was in an updo and secured with a clip also decorated with crystals. She was looking down on him, wide eyed with question on her face. "Yugi?"

"The shop's closed, Mai. Why are you here?"

Mai seemed mesmerized as she saw herself reflected in Yugi's eyes, "I'm here because...because you're waiting for me. I came to bring you to your friends."

"But, we've already missed dinner."

"I still have to take you to the prom."

"You don't need to pick me up. I'm fine at the shop. Going to the prom is your choice. You don't have to go."

Mai's eyebrows arched; she was irate, "Not go!? I'm so dressed up, I look stupid!"

His eyebrows furrowed, "You didn't need to get that dressed up."

"Hey! Are you trying to say-!"

"It's just me, Mai." Mai was so shocked by the reply, she blinked. "That's what I meant."

Mai bit her lip as she drew in a breath and her eyebrows lowered as she sighed. "I'm sorry, Yugi. I didn't mean to come here late."

"It's never too late." Solomon walked up between them, holding a clear box in his hand. His eyes turned to hearts once he noticed what Mai was wearing. Yugi turned to him, "Grandpa?"

"So, THIS is the young woman that you're going to the prom with? If you're not taking Yugi, then I'll go with you, instead. In fact, I'll go anywhere with you."

"Grandpa. This is Mai Valentine." Solomon did not answer. "Grandpa?" Solomon handed Yugi the box. Yugi opened it and pulled out a white flower and a white corsage, "Give me your hand." Mai held out her right hand and noticed Yugi was shaking as he put it on. After he was finished she placed her left hand over his hands. The action caused Yugi to jump and look up at her. After noticing that Mai was smiling at him, Yugi blushed. She plucked the flower from his hands and pinned it to his lapel.

Solomon was crying as he was filming them. "Aww, ...this is like watching Titanic, all over again," he sighed dreamingly.


	8. Nightcall

Author's note 1: Named after "Nightcall" by Kavinsky.

Author's note 2: This took me FOREVER to re-word.

Nightcall

Solomon waved good-bye to the two as they got into Mai's blue convertible. As Mai drove off, Yugi took in the smell of the black leather seats. He noticed that it had manual transmission.

"Wow, Mai! It's beautiful!"

"If you like it now, then you'll love it, once you find out how fast it goes." She smiled, "How 'bout it?"

"No. I mean, ...don't you want to talk?"

"About what? I take you to prom, you have a good time, then I take you home. The End."

"Have you ever gone to the prom before?"

"No!" She glanced at him, then back at the road. She felt that she should not had snipped at him. Mai muted the stereo, "Yugi, ...I never went to prom. I couldn't stand anyone in my high school. And, I didn't have any real friends."

"Really? I'm sure someone was a good friend of yours."

"No..." She sighed, "Well, there was this one guy. His name was Roger. He was a bit shy, but a punk, ...like me. We met in middle school. One day, I saw that someone punched him and asked what happened. Turns out that he walked in on five guys, who had a crush on me. They apologized about what they said about me, but Roger told them that I had no boyfriend." She chuckled as she took a look at Yugi, "I guess we were so close that everyone thought that we were dating." She looked back at the road, "Anyway, ...the news spread like wildfire. He got punched in the face when the jocks confronted him about it. After he told me about this, he said that he always knew that there were few guys that liked me, but he didn't know that THAT many guys liked me. And, the funny thing is, was that I didn't have to do much to confirm it. I only had to tuck my bangs behind my ears, start wearing my lipstick at school, and flash a smile at a few guys I knew that most girls liked. I was interested in none of the guys at school, but they kept coming to meet me. Once the hot girls noticed, I became popular, on accident. And, once I started dressing like those girls, I was untouchable."

"What happened with Roger?"

"We used to be close, like you and Joey. At first, he was uncomfortable about me hanging out with the popular kids. Roger confronted me. I was bad when he first met me, but he told me that I was becoming a bad person. But, I knew I wasn't bad like some of the popular girls were. They were always popular. Roger thought I was becoming like them, but actually, I was just becoming a worse version of myself. I probably did one bad thing for every other good thing I did. The popular girls never liked that. Once I started dating guys, that's when he started arguments with me. And, he also befriended the bad kids and became increasingly violent. I couldn't get him to stop, so we eventually stopped talking. Years later, he came up to me and he asked me out to the prom. I lied to him and said 'no' because I wasn't going."

"But, you told me that you didn't go."

"That's right, Yugi. The true reason why I said 'no', when he asked, was because he still thought that I was his property. That I belonged only to him. The truth was that how he told me that story years ago, ...I realized that he liked me. And, I never liked him in that way. Changed the way I looked after I figured out that the reason why he got beat up was because he tried to lie over the truth. After it got out that I wasn't his girlfriend, he changed. So, I decided to change, too. I didn't want to be friends with a guy like that. His actions got worse, after I became popular. He even joined a gang. Long story short, he died young and I never went to his funeral." She paused. "Yugi? I can be nice, but I'm a bad person. I'll only just let you and all of your friends, down."

"I don't believe that, Mai. You've always been there for us. And, you'll always be my friend, no matter what you do. Even if you become like Roger, then I'll still be friends with you."

She put her hand on the stick shift, "No, you wouldn't."

"Yes, I would."

"Stop saying that! You're lying-!" Mai felt Yugi's hand on hers.

"Mai?" She looked over at him and was surprised by the gentle look he gave her.

"Don't look at me like that!" She stopped the car at a red light and pulled her hand away and back onto the wheel. She looked back at the road with a scowl on her face.

"Like what?"

She turned to him, "You can't possibly believe that! You can't possibly trust anyone that much, in your life, to never hurt you. I thought Roger and I were going to be friends forever and he left me. So what the popular kids liked me; they didn't get me like he did! Everyone I ever liked either left me or hurt me! You can't possibly subject yourself like that to everyone you meet!"

"Armor works both ways, you know." She starred back at him, shocked. She did not know how to respond. "Mai, if you expect everyone to hurt you, then what good is it if you can never take it off? Doesn't it make it hard for anyone to reach you under all of that?"

She tapped her left hand on her chest, "If my friends loved me, they'd reach through all of it to find me." The light turned green.

"If you put up too many barriers to test if someone loves you, then you could end up hurting yourself, as well. Aren't you afraid that you'll cut someone so deep that you'll harm them, when you didn't intend to?"

"It's worth it," she said coldly. She turned back to the road and shifted the gear into drive.

"Even if it means that you'd miss out on what you've been looking for? Wouldn't you risk taking off your armor for that opportunity?" Mai looked down at him, for a moment, expressionless. She heard a genuine concern in his voice. "Mai, when it comes to love, I think I might be afraid of all the same things that you are. And, Mai, ...no one has the right to force you to take off your armor for them."

"Yugi...I'm sorry for being this way with you."


	9. Pharaoh and Harpy Queen Arrives

Pharaoh and Harpy Queen Arrives

Yugi and Mai walked into the hall together. They did not have to wait long for their turn at taking their prom photographs.

"Um... I can't fit both of you in the photograph."

"WHAT," Yugi and Mai said in unison.

"The far shot seems awkward enough, but the height difference between you two makes it difficult to get the close up. How about you stand on this?" He took a plant off of a metal stand and pulled it over. Yugi could see that it stood higher than he knew that he could lift his leg. When he pushed his hand against it and it rocked.

Mai looked down at Yugi, "I am not letting you get hurt on that." Yugi nodded his agreement. She angrily arched her eyebrows as she turned back to the photographer.

He pointed to Mai, "How about crouching-?"

Mai was angry, "How dare you-!"

Yugi kicked the stand over, "OPPS!" The clanging sound was so loud, that everyone in the area looked at them. Mai started to get nervous, as she noticed all of the eyes on her.

"Smile," the photographer yelled. Mai instinctively smiled and posed before the flash went off. Mai looked around again and see that everyone was still starring. It was a stare she was not used to. They were not stares to suggest her beauty or even ones that suggested her fashion choices were odd. All the other prom goers were looking at her as if she was old. Mai was not THAT old, but being half a lifetime older than Joey, did make her old to everyone around her. She knew she did not talk or walk like 'the kids' around her. On the inside, she maybe was still as confused as the rest of them are, but at her age she had the grace for not cracking under most pressures. As she turned to her left, she saw Joey in the distance, in the ballroom. He was dancing with his sister. Their happiness was something she knew she could never have. Not the notion of a moment of happiness, but the opportunity to have the happy life she always dreamed of.

"Are you ready, Mai?" Mai looked down and saw Yugi's outstretched hand. She nervously reached down and held it. Yugi's voice was sweet, "You know, ...going to the prom is your choice. You don't have to go if you don't want to." Mai's eyes widened a bit. She finally got what Yugi had meant. She turned and started running toward the exit, hand in hand with Yugi. Everyone was staring at them, but they could care less. They both smiled as they each flung open a door. They were not escaping, but rather owning their freedom to take over the night.


	10. Tom-Tom

Tom-Tom

Author's note: Story's title from The Hundred in the Hands song "Tom Tom". Song has nothing to do with this chapter.

After they got the car, Mai sped off into the night. They were still laughing and filled with excitement. Yugi stopped and looked up at Mai.

Mai took a quick glance at him, "What's the matter?"

"I guess that's it."

Mai smiled, "It doesn't have to be. I have an idea." Mai parked the car and they got out. "Let's play some games." After they entered, Mai gasped as she starred at a prize in one of the machines. It was a little white bunny that was dancing. "OH, I want it!" She pouted, "But, I'm no good at this game."

"We can come back later and waste and rest of our quarters on it." Mai smiled at him and they went to get tokens. Everyone stared at the two of them, as they played various games throughout the arcade. "Yugi? My feet need a rest." They walked over and sat in a row filled with the same type of machine. "Have you ever played this one before?"

"No, Mai."

She smiled at him, "Just watch." She inserted some coins in the machine and a pin ball dropped from the top. Mai played with buttons as it came down, to knock other pinballs down with it. "It takes a while to learn, but once you got it, it can get pretty exciting."

"At this rate, you can get any prize you want! What were you thinking about getting?"

"Hmm...you know what? I don't even know. What are you getting?"

Yugi looked down and saw that he did not have many tickets to redeem for a prize. "Well, I don't have enough to get what I want."

Mai laughed, "If you get me a tiara, then I'll pay you back. I just need to rest my feet a bit more."

"Okay." Yugi walked over to the prize counter. He got one that was pink and purple. As he went back, he felt bad. If prom not was something that could haunt you for the rest of your life, then he wanted to get something special for Mai. The tiara just was not enough. As he walked towards Mai, he saw the machine with the prize that Mai wanted. He took a good look at it. He inserted four tokens. The machine lit up and a horizontal stick slowly moved upward. He pressed the button and the stick poked towards the bunny, but it missed the opening in the glass. Yugi tried about four more times. He was about to try again and saw that he had three coins left. Then, he remembered that he was keeping a spare quarter in his left shoe. He exchanged it for a token and went back to the machine to play his last dollar. The stick traveled up and Yugi waited, then he pressed the button. His timing was perfect and he lit up. The bunny fell out of the machine. After he retrieved it, he turned around and saw a teen, as tall as Tristan, looking at him.

"Gimme that," the teen yelled as he yanked the toy out of Yugi's hands and pushed him into the machine.

"Ouff!" Yugi landed on the ground.

He looked it over, "I'm taking your girl's toy."

The millennium eye flashed on Yugi's forehead, "Girls toy? Look again." Within the teen's mind, he saw the toy's facial expression morphed into a snarl with fangs and became a ravenous creature. The teen yells, tosses it in the air, and knocks himself out against a pillar. Yami caught the toy and walked back over to Mai. First, he held the crown in front of her.

"For me? Thank you!" She put it on her head. "How do I look?"

"Like a queen."

"What's that in your hand?"

Yami started focusing on the teens walking towards them, "We better go."

Mai peeked at them, next around each other, then looked at Yami, "This way." Mai collected her winnings, took Yami's hand, and lead him out of the arcade and they started running down the street and down a dark alley.

"Mai? Isn't your car the other way?"

"Wait here." Yami stopped and Mai walked up to a window. He could not make out whom she was talking to. She poured all of the steel balls to the other person and something was given to her. Mai placed it in her cleavage and walked back to Yami. "Let's go." They came out on the other side and Mai walked up to a club bouncer. She talked to him and waved Yami next to her. Mai pulled out a wad of money and waved it below her chest.

The bouncer looked at Yami, "I can't let him in. He has to prove that he's old enough to drink."

"WHAT-?"

"We're not a restaurant, lady! I don't make the rules! I suggest you leave before the cops come by." Mai and Mai walked towards the back of the line.

"Hmph! I didn't want to get into that lame place anyway. Let's find my car."

Mai parked her car on the street, "I want to pick up a few things before I head home. You want anything?" Yami did not say a word. "Suit yourself. I'll leave the music on." She left the car and walked into a store. While listening to the song, Yami decided that he liked the lyrics.

"Yami," Yugi said. "You didn't give it to her."

Yami looked down and saw that the prize was still in his hands, "You won it. It is only right that you give her this." Yami suddenly leaned closer to the passenger mirror, then turned to look out of the car. Mai was talking to a woman wearing dirty clothes. She took off her tiara and placed it on the woman's head and handed her some food.

She put her things in the back, then got into the driver's seat, "Ready to go?"

"Not yet." He nervously handed her the toy bunny. Mai gasped. She grabbed it and looked it over.

"Yugi!" She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Yugi madly blushed. "Oh, Yugi, you shouldn't have..." She played with his hair a bit and smirked. "How about we go back to my place?" Yugi smiled back at Mai.


	11. Don't Play the Cards to your Heart

Don't Play the Cards to your Heart

Author's note: Story's title from Groove Armada's song "Cards to your Heart". I felt this song had something to do with this fiction.

Yugi thought that Mai's place was around the corner. But, Mai's place was out in the middle of nowhere. Okay, maybe it was not in the middle of nowhere. There were a few other houses around, unlike the Kaiba Manor. Mai parked her car in front of the house, as the gates closed. Yugi helped her get the groceries inside. After they entered, a few lights turned on. Mai kept turning on lights as they headed towards the kitchen.

"This was my parents' house."

"Was?"

"They died when I was young. And, I have no brothers or sisters, so I gew up all alone." Mai quickly turned to and away from Yugi, "You can put those down, hun." Yugi obliged as Mai walked up to the cupboard, took out two glasses, and went to the refrigerator to start adding ice. "Yugi, just pick out whatever you want to eat. Okay?"

Yugi looked in the bags and pulled out some pretzels, "Thanks, Mai. How long are we going to hang out, here?"

Mai leaned over the counter and winked, "It's prom night, Yugi. I'll take you home in the morning." Having to stay all night with Mai Valentine and being able to see down her dress was too much for Yugi. "Yugi! Oh, Yugi." She ran over to him.

"Hmm? Where am I?" Yugi glanced and saw that Mai had been holding him to her chest.

Mai smiled at him, "Thank goodness." She let him go. Yugi's face was red. He looked around and saw that Mai really did kidnap him. She stood up, "You HAVE to see this." She walked into the next room and Yugi followed. After she turned on the lights, he saw a Kaiba Corp dueling station. "Do you like it?"

"I'll say. Can we...try it out?"

She let out a soft happy sound. "I'm glad you like it, but we can't. They barely started wiring it up. It's useless for now."

"We could play the old fashioned way."

Mai smirked, "Okay."

"Yugi! Stop hesitating!" Mai was sitting without her shoes on. Yugi was shirtless and shoeless.

Yugi nervously looked at his cards, "I end my turn."

"You END your turn!? You didn't do anything! I'm a woman, I can take it." Yugi seemed nervous to her. "Fine. I'll tell something about me instead of taking off my dress."

Yugi looked at her, "Are you sure?" Yugi had always been able to see it. Mai Valentine, past tense, was hard for her to handle. "I don't like that either."

"Huh?"

"I don't like that it's harder for you to tell people about yourself, than playing this game. You hide a lot. But, then again, there's no irony in me pointing that out."

"My heart's been broken many times, Yugi. I grew up alone and did not inherit a lot. After I turned twenty, I became a card dealer. One of the girls there, who taught me about dealing, her name was Sarah. I found her pretty. About 5'6", long brown hair, freckles, and light brown eyes. I don't know why, but one time, after I left a get together at her place, she gave me this LOOK. I've never seen it before... It was like she wanted to tell me something. Yugi? If she told me to stay, I would've stayed. And, if she told me to spend the night, I would've spent the night. But, I kept staring into her eyes, waiting for her to tell me what was on her mind. But, she never did. And, I can't regret that I never asked that moment because I could've embarrassed her in front of her friends and roommates. I never asked and she left almost five months later, after announcing her engagement. She left and they got married quite fast, as her fiancée was a military man. I still wish I knew what she was thinking that night. And, because of that day, she remains 'the only woman I've ever loved', in my head. After Sarah, I wondered, if I could ever love a woman. But, I love the way that men look at me so much, that I never bothered trying. The way I felt about her, I never felt about another man or woman. Even though I've never been with a woman, does that make me a lesbian, Yugi?"

"Having romantic feelings for one woman, after seeing thousands of people in your lifetime, does not make you a lesbian. In fact, it doesn't fit the criteria."

"I see." Mai stood up and took off her dress. She noticed that Yugi had his eyes covered as she did. After she kicked the dress off, she stared at him. "Look at me, Yugi." Yugi slowly uncovered his eyes and they gazed into each other's eyes. Mai is a beautiful woman, but Yugi saw how gorgeous she was with her vulnerability. She started to sit down, "Sorry, but I really wanted that dress off. I'll owe you for the next one."

Yugi finished the maintenance phase of his turn, "I end my turn." He watched as Mai drew her card.

"After getting my first Harpy Lady, I started becoming bored of the game." She placed one card, face, down. "Eventually, I collected enough cards, to play in tournaments. But, none of the cards I found were rare enough. So, I used my knowledge of duel monsters to make me more money." She pointed, that she was going to attack with her Harpy Sisters. "After a while, I noticed that the men who came for me became more obsessive. I had to quit after a few got too fresh with me, doing those types of games. I didn't want a man to predict how much money I could get. I wanted to make my own riches. But, at the same time, I wanted respect." She made a hand motion to cancel the attack. "Yugi, ...you were the first person I met who respects me as I am. You're the only person who looks at me like you do." Yugi could not believe what Mai just told him. "Yugi?" She reached across the table and covered Yugi's right hand with her own, "I-."

"Don't play the cards to your heart, now." Mai had a look of question upon her face, then she smiled as she got up and tugged on his hand. "Where are we going?"

Mai winked, "To bed."

Song Lyrics (In case you were curious):

While the music is coming to an end

I fell for you and the love pretend

You know, I smelled the truth

But tonight my instinct

I left the city, my family, my precinct

And I'm looking at liberty, good belief

Revolution, new obsession

Ideas, like new years

And good things are growing wings

With hope and dope and charity

Refrain:

I ain't being disarmed like this

I don't seek your foolish kiss

This is feeling victory

And I won't tell you what I see No more, no more

Don't think it out, feel this time

You've got to trust in someone

Drop your guard and make love

Don't play your cards to your heart now [x2]

Stop, yell, make a noise that's for all of us

Don't think revenge is a path to happiness

For the real link to enlightenment is forgiveness

For under the sun we are better and warmer together

REFRAIN

Let's stop, breath in

Let the oceans wave

Let the trees rise up

Let all my love come pay, Drive away

I'll be a bystander That enters the mind

Out of a nightmare

Back into my heart

All of the reds, shot forth

Go ahead, make love, love

Revolution, new obsession

Ideas, new years

Good things are growing wings

Hope, dope, charity

Don't play your cards to your heart now


	12. Within the Queen's Chamber

Within the Queen's Chamber

Mai put on a giant black T-shirt and walked back to where Yugi could see her, while she was holding the toy bunny, "How's this?"

"Better," Yugi said with a smile.

"I'm sorry that I don't have anything to fit you."

"I'm fine," Yugi said. He was wearing a white undershirt, boxers, and socks. He looked around, "I guess I'll just sleep in that chair-."

"SIT, Muoto," Mai commanded. She smiled after Yugi got onto the King sized bed. She walked over to the other side, put the bunny on the night stand, got into bed and threw the white cover sheet over their heads. Mai was beaming, "Yugi? I never had a sleep over before."

"Me either." She pulled on his arm, to have him lie down next to her. They laid in silence, thinking about the night as the sheets settled around them. Mai used her hand to tent the sheet, so that she could see Yugi's eyes.

"Yugi?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I didn't get you to your prom with your friends."

"Don't worry about it, Mai. As long as we all have fun."

"Yugi, I was wondering that after all of this time without having a one true friend, will I ever find any?"

"But, you already have, Joey, Tristan, Tea, and me."

Mai was surprised by his answer and she became more shy, "Yugi? Do you think...do you think that we'd be friends forever?"

Yugi let out a small smile, "Of course I will, Mai." Mai's head catalogued through every person she met. She never met someone with eyes like Yugi's. It feels like she knew him for a long time. She had been alone for so long, yet his eyes made her feel at ease, at home. She pulled him close and started to kiss him. All of a sudden, a flash of light emerged from the millenium puzzle.

"Yugi?"

"I am not Yugi. I am the pharoah." She felt that they were on a bed and he was restaining her by her wrists.

"Pharoah?" When she attempted to pull away, she noticed she was holding a knife in one of her hands. "Where am I?"

"You are in my bed." Mai panicked as she felt like escaping. But, she could not escape his purple eyes. There was something about them that was like Yugi's, but she knew that the eyes did not belong to him. She could not help herself from feeling an attraction for him. The Pharoah threw the knife across the room and held her down as he kissed her. They started making out.

"Yugi?" They stopped kissing and she felt him sit up.

"I am the pharoah." He got up and walked towards the balcony. Mai sat up and looked to where the knife was tossed. She could not detect where it had landed and decided to follow him. The large bed had dark dyed sheets and large bed posts drapped in white fabric. As she got closer, she noticed that the candlelight revealed hieroglyphics on sand colored stone walls. They looked outside together. Mai was shocked at what she saw. The sun had almost set and the moon and stars started to lend a glow to the sand and pyrimads. "This is where I was from. Yugi has waken me up, after being trapped within the Millenium Puzzle for 5000 years."

"How...how did we get here?"

"We are currently in the Millenium Puzzle. I brought you here. All that you see is from my memories. I ruled all of this."

"Did you bring Yugi, too?"

"Yugi's mind can also occupy the Millenium Puzzle. He is here, but I tend not to show him my memories, as he could get lost. At times I am afraid to show him what I remember. When someone's mind reenters the Millenium Puzzle, you never enter into a place you that you have never been." The pharoah opened his hands and showed that the Puzzle interior was like a maze. Mai thought it was as confusing as an Escher drawing.

"Where is he?"

"Yugi is, where he is. He is safe. You are safe in here, as long as I navigate for you. There are many traps out there." He lowered his hands and the image vanished.

"Then, why am I with you?"

"I took notice of your sadness. You could stay here with me."

"Stay? For how long?"

"I am not sure. I do know if you stay here for too long, your body will become confused. It will sense that your soul had left and you will become brain dead. If your soul returns after that, then you'll be trapped until you cease." Mai knew that she might have at least a year.

"Then, I should leave."

"You will stay until the sun rises. Letting you out might wake Yugi. We have much to talk about."

"Like what?"

"Anything to pass the time."

"I never told anyone this. I grew up 'well off'. They usually were not with me because they traveled constantly. I never had any friends because we moved a lot. They forced me to move to keep me close by them. Eventually, traveling cost them their lives. It happened just after they announced moving, again."

"This is a very complicated will, Miss Valentine," the lawyer said.

"Go on."

"Your mother had more money than your father and it seems that she wasted a lot of it. And, your father changed his will numerous times. If the money is invested wisely, then it can last until you're twenty to twenty-five. If you spend it, as they have, you will lose everything before the age of thirteen."

"After that, I became very lonely. I finally decided to start middle school, in a public school. And, that's where I met Roger. We got along, but our relationship did not last long. For some reason, I felt lonier, after that."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I lost my parents when I was young, as well."

"After everything that has happened in my life, I feel like I was always meant to be alone. Even after meeting Yugi, Joey, and their friends, I'm afraid that it might really be true. What if I lose them? If I lose them, it'll really be true."

"I can not promise that you would not lose them. But, there is one thing that I can promise you."

"What?"

"I could have you as my queen. My whole kingdom would love you and you would never be lonely ever again."

"I'll never again be lonely...?"


End file.
